Carp bile: A miracle cure or a poison?

Along with the hype surrounding the benefits of carp bile comes an increase in emergency cases due to poisoning at hospitals each year. So, does carp bile actually have any medicinal effects?

When benefits are inflated.

For reasons unknown, carp bile has suddenly come to be regarded as a miracle cure for stomach aches, backaches, gastritis, asthma, chronic coughs, and general weakness.And the consequence of these anecdotal remedies is that the number of carp bile poisoning cases tends to increase. The Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi) alone receives over 10 cases of carp bile poisoning each year, mostly men, and there have been deaths due to delayed hospitalization.

Emergency treatment for a patient suffering from carp bile poisoning. Photo: case.vn

Understanding is key to using it correctly.

To be fair, it's no coincidence that rumors about the benefits of carp bile are still widely circulated and followed by many people.

In fact, many traditional medicine texts record the effects of carp bile (clear like gallbladder) in some medicinal remedies. The book "Guide to Medicinal Properties" states: "Carp bile is mainly used to treat malignant sores; mix it with lime and apply it to the sores. For sore throats or swelling, mix it with white powder, dry it in a cool place, and blow a little on the affected area to cure it."

Grass carp.

The book "Compendium of Materia Medica" states: Carp bile has the effect of clearing heat, brightening the eyes, and is used to treat swollen, red, and painful eyes with membranes, sore throats, and ulcers caused by heat.

The book "Sichuan Traditional Chinese Medicine" records the experience of treating boils and ulcers by taking carp bile, gac fruit seeds, and dried rhubarb, grinding them into a fine powder, mixing them well, and applying it to the ulcer... However, no medical texts mention using carp bile for beauty, aphrodisiac purposes, combating body weakness, or other benefits as rumored.

Black carp.

Some documents even state that carp bile is toxic. Another difference is that traditional medicine mainly uses it externally (applied topically, drops, or held in the mouth) and the bile is dried and often combined with other ingredients. In contrast, most cases of poisoning are usually due to drinking fresh carp bile or bile mixed with alcohol.

According to modern medicine, Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen (Poison Control Center, Bach Mai Hospital) stated that carp bile contains toxins that cause acute liver and kidney failure and directly affect the digestive system. Therefore, anyone who has consumed carp bile and "does not" immediately show signs of poisoning should still go to the hospital for examination.

According to suckhoegiadinh